Wednesday

As infighting in the Wampanoag Mashpee tribe continues, FBI agents investigate tribal finances, and the state Legislature considers approving casinos, the Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes is stepping forward with a claim that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe needs its approval before moving forward with the casino deal in Middleborough.

Why?

Because, according to Sachem Rodney Randy Joseph of the Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes, the use of ancient Middleborough reservation lands falls within his tribe’s purview, not that of the Mashpee Wampanoags, who are seeking a casino deal “off reservation.”

“We have 500,000 acres in Plymouth County,” Joseph said. “I have deeded maps for the old Plymouth court that show all the tribes in Plymouth County as a federation/confederation. What I’m saying is, according to the law, in 1788, there existed the Plymouth County Indians. We had Indian overseers like the Mashpee and Gay Head. Under Chapter 29, if the local tribe is a previously recognized tribe, we have a right to the land. For the Mashpee to do any gaming in Middleborough, they have to get the permission of the Plymouth County Wampanoag, aka Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes.”

“The Mashpee tribe owns the land,” Mashpee Wampanoag spokesman Amy Lambiaso said. “They bought the land. They have the title to it. Investors for the tribe have secured 500 acres. We have a strong application that we submitted to the federal government that shows our long and historical ties to the Middleborough land. This application is to take the land into trust for the purpose of gaming.”

But Joseph said his claim has nothing to do with who owns the land; it has to do with his tribe’s legal right to use it. He said the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe needs the Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes’ permission to use the Middleborough land for gaming.

Standing in the way of the Middleborough casino deal is not the intent of the Federation, Joseph added. He said his tribe wants to strike a deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, but he wouldn’t specify what that deal would be.

The Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes has sent a petition to the Secretary of the Interior requesting a gaming license. As Lambiaso noted, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has sent a similar petition to the secretary.

However, the Mashpee, after a lengthy lawsuit, won federal tribal recognition status. After petitioning the government for eight years, the Plimoth Federation has yet to attain that recognition. But Joseph said this won’t matter if the Secretary of the Interior grants his tribe’s request.

If the Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes’ petition is approved, Joseph said, it will give the tribe automatic federal recognition as a restored tribe with full gaming rights.
Joseph said the Secretary of Interior has 18 months to approve or deny his tribe’s claims. He says he has plenty of evidence to back them up.

He said, under Chapter 350 of the 1870 Mass. Acts and Resolves, the federal government gave the Plymouth County Indians money for schools and for parcels of land. He said Grand Sachem Quachattasett of the Manomet Tribe also made treaties of fidelity with the old Plymouth Courts in the 1700s, establishing his oversight of the Plymouth County Indians and their use of lands.

“What that did was establish the laws today that we were previously recognized by the federal government unambiguously,” Joseph said. “The federal government made maps that these were all Indian lands all the way to 1960.”

The federal and state governments took over these lands, creating state and federal parks like Myles Standish State Forest, he added. According to Joseph, his tribe has the right to use these lands.

The Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes, comprised of Plymouth County Wampanoags, is asking the Secretary of Interior for permission to beef up the tribe’s historic Native American programs in Plymouth and other areas within the tribe’s authority. Joseph said he’s hoping the federal government will allow his tribe to expand educational programs like The First People Pavilion Plymouth hosts on the waterfront every year. Construction of traditional Native American longhouses and hominy fields at historic state parks would enhance the tribe’s educational outreach and cultural contribution, he said.

The Federation is also asking the federal government for permission to partner with Raynham and Plainville dog tracks to expand them into profitable casinos. In addition, Joseph said his tribe is exploring the possibility of siting business investments in Brockton through a similar partnership.

As they stand, these dog track facilities will need to spend $200 million in permitting to build casinos on the sites. If his tribe receives the federal approval it’s after, Joseph said his tribe will offer these businesses a partnership whereby they won’t have to go through this lengthy and costly permitting process. Under the umbrella of the tribe, these businesses could forego this permitting and move forward with improvements right away, for a significant cost savings. Improvements like these would revitalize these businesses, Joseph said, and help spur economic growth around them.

Lambiaso said The Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes has a right to pursue these business opportunities.

“Every tribe has a right to seek the federal recognition and to seek their own rights from the federal government so I don’t’ want to comment on Plymouth County tribe,” she added.

“They’ve kind of broadened themselves to take the whole pie for gaming,” Joseph said of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. “They’re on shaky ground. We want to make sure that every legal step is carefully taken on behalf of the Wampanoag Nation.”

Joseph stressed that he made a vow to protect the rights of all Wampanoag Indians, not just those of his particular tribe.

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